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March 2014 • The PCB Magazine 111 CAPTURING TRIBAL KNOWLEDGE continues turning it into a training competitive advantage is critical to a company's long-term survival. This particular problem is compounded with high employee turnover during times of uncertain economic environments. This logic becomes fatal when long-term employees begin retir- ing and that tribal knowledge is lost forever. It has become all too common to witness com- panies, in an effort to cut costs, offering earlier retirement (or worse) to long-term experi- enced employees so that they can replace them with young- er, inexpensive new employ- ees. What these companies fail to realize, until it is too late, is that this strategy severely backfires as decades of experi- ence and tribal knowledge walk out the door with the employees. Many of the businesses that have not survived the recent economic cycles were com- panies that had been successful for 30+ years, until several "Larrys" began to retire. Others that have survived have never fully captured all of the tribal knowledge that left with their best employees. Training Records Ironically, the companies that have the best- trained work force many times have the weak- est system. Most PCB fabricators do a tremen- dous amount of training, but do not take credit for it. A common mantra I like to repeat in my columns is "If you can't prove it, it didn't hap- pen!" If you take the time to flowchart your daily non-production processes, you will be sur- prised by the amount of informal training that takes place on a daily basis. Develop a simple method of documenting ALL training that takes place—a training record. Whether part of an elaborate electronic system, or a simple paper document, complete a training record at every opportunity. (Side note: as with any system in this business, the more complicated you make it, the higher the potential for failure.) Every day is filled with training opportuni- ties; be sure to take credit for these opportuni- ties by documenting them. Every time that you sit down with an employee to discuss (written or verbal) a recent mistake, customer complaint, or simply work through a potential process im- provement is a training opportunity. Take five extra minutes and re- cord it. Certified Operator Program This is an integral part of the training program that is also often overlooked. It sim- ply is not acceptable to a cus- tomer for a supplier to rely strictly on OTJ training. There needs to be some method of demonstrating your employ- ees' understanding and compe- tence as it relates to the job(s) they are performing. This is of particular importance when a company utilizes cross-training and moves people around between departments to adjust to workload fluctuations. Annual recertification is also a must; it simply is not very effective if the procedure has changed revision numerous times since the initial certi- fication. There has to be a high level of confi- dence in workforce competency, and a certified operator program is the appropriate method. Figure 1 shows how a sample certified operator process map might look. I will end this column as I began it, with another timeless quote. Perhaps Confucius was speaking about the importance of participative employee training when, 2,500 years ago, he stated, "What I hear, I forget. What I see, I re- member. What I do, I understand." PCB steve williams is the president of steve williams consulting llc and the former strategic sourcing manager for plexus corp. he is the author of the books, Quality 101 handbook and survival is not mandato- ry: 10 things every ceo should Know about lean. to read past columns, or to contact williams, click here. what these companies fail to realize, until it is too late, is that this strategy severely backfires as decades of experience and tribal knowledge walk out the door with the employees. " "